Today, I woke up expecting to know who our next president would be. Maybe it will be decided by the time I finish writing this – it’s 2020, so who knows, right?
A lot of people who are anxious on both sides of the aisle about this election. I’ve heard friends and family express pain, hopes, fears, and strong opinions about this election. More so than ever before. So many people are putting their hopes and dreams on the shoulders of who is elected, but I think we’ve got things backwards.
An election doesn’t change the course of our nation because an election is a reflection of where “we the people” are at. We don’t have a divided nation because we have divisive politicians. We have divisive politicians because we are a divided nation. We’ve chosen to rally around the things that separate us, instead of being bound in unity through love for our fellow man.
In the gospel of Luke, Jesus teaches what the unifying power of love looks like in the parable of the good Samaritan. A Jewish man is beaten and left for dead on the side of the road. A priest passes by, sees him in his pain, and goes on his way. A Levite (temple worker) sees the injured man in his pain, and goes on his way. I think we’ve all been in a time of need and pain and watched as people see where we are and choose to do nothing. It’s one of the most painful experiences you can have. Thankfully, the story doesn’t end there.
Of all people, a Samaritan sees this man in his pain and chooses love. Samaritans and Jews were not friends. They despised each other. But the Samaritan chose love.
He bound the other man’s wounds, took him to an inn, and paid the innkeeper enough money to get the injured man back on his feet again – with a promise to come back and pay any balance left over.
When we chose love – when we chose to meet someone’s needs, to stand shoulder to shoulder, to help bear their burdens and listen to their pain – we transform their life, we transform our life, and we nudge the world towards unity in love.
If we stop looking at people based on what divides us and start asking ourselves “How can I love my neighbor as myself?”, we are spurred to action. The truth is, we don’t need a grass roots political movement. We need a grass roots movement of love.
I have family on both sides of the political spectrum, but we love our time together no matter what’s going on in politics. Why? Because we know that love comes first. We know that those whom social media would tell us to cancel are the same people who have loved us through the good times and the most trying times. We know that someone’s worth is more important than a checkmark on a ballot and our future is built on something more powerful than any political party.
I urge you to put your hope in love, in unity, and in Christ, who always points us towards faith, hope, and love.